The Intend Rover hybrid shock is unlike anything you’ve seen before. But also, kinda like some things you have. Combining an air spring with a coil, the Rover seeks to deliver the best of both worlds when it comes to mountain bike shocks: adjustability and sensitivity.
In simple terms, a coil shock provides a more linear and sensitive ride feel compared to an air shock, which is more progressive. The coil’s lower friction makes it more responsive to small bumps. Air shocks can be adjusted for a rider’s weight by changing air pressure, and their progression can be tuned with volume spacers; adjusting a coil shock for different rider weights involves swapping out the spring for a different spring rate.
The Cane Creek Tigon is the most well-known hybrid shock that pairs an air spring with a coil. Dig into the specs, however, and it’s obvious that Intend is flipping the script. Rather than relying on the spring to do the bulk of the heavy lifting like the Tigon, the Rover uses a high-pressure air can and a light spring weight. Though both the Tigon and Rover are hybrid shocks, the Tigon leans more coil while the Rover is more of an air shock.
On the air side of the Rover, riders will find they’re able to run lower pressures than usual, though the shock can still be pumped up to 500psi. Because a coil is handling some of the work, there’s said to be less wear and tear on the air side due to friction. The Rover features external low-speed compression/rebound and air pressure adjustments.
Maxi from Intend told Singletracks that riders can generally run about 25-30% less pressure on the Rover than on the air-only Intend shock, the Hover Monocoque. “The Hover Monocoque had a max rider weight of about 110kg. Now the max rider weight is 130kg. So the matrix of required pressure per given rider weight has basically shifted,” they said.
Press materials for the Rover release show coils with spring weights of 135lb and 150lb, much lower than what riders typically run on coil-only shocks. Even the coil springs recommended for the Cane Creek Tigon generally run between 300lb and 650lb.
It looks like an Intend Hover with a coil, but it’s not
Intend makes it clear that the new Rover hybrid shock is not just a Hover with a coil on it: “Rebuilding the Rover from a Hover shock or vice versa is not possible,” they say in a press release.
This is not Intend’s first stab at a hybrid shock. Last year, the company introduced the limited-edition Moto V2. Only 10 units were offered for sale, and they were only available in Europe.
With a steel spring, the Intend Rover has a claimed weight of 570g; with a titanium spring, it’s 510g. The steel spring expands the maximum rider weight to 130kg (about 285lb), up from 90kg for the titanium spring.
The Intend Rover can be shipped to US customers for roughly 1007€ (about $1,200USD), plus shipping and customs duties.
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